On May 17, Iran suddenly launched a combat operation, launching an undeclared war against the UAE by firing three suicide drones that bombed the UAE's nuclear power plant. This was reportedly due to rumors that the UAE military would, at the request of U.S. President Trump, go to war against Iran and launch surprise attacks on three islands in the Persian Gulf, conducting amphibious landings. This time, Iran acted with precision, decisiveness, and severity—directly deploying suicide drones to conduct a warning-level, precision bombing of the UAE's nuclear facility. The UAE clearly understands that the next round of attacks from Iran will not involve ordinary suicide drones.
On May 16, U.S. media reported that a former senior security official from the Trump administration revealed to The Daily Telegraph that Trump had instructed the UAE to independently deploy its forces to seize these islands: "Go take them. Let the UAE’s military do it instead of the United States’."
According to U.S. media leaks, one of Trump’s earlier plans for military action against Iran involved U.S. forces occupying three islands in the Persian Gulf—Abu Musa Island, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb—and then returning them to the UAE. The UAE has long claimed sovereignty over these territories. However, as things stand now, Trump appears to have changed course—from having U.S. forces occupy the islands to supporting the UAE military to launch an attack on Iran and take control of the areas themselves.
We’ll see just how capable the UAE military truly is. Even when the U.S. military directly intervened, the war turned out this way. Leaving aside other points, Iran could simply send small motorcycles to visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi every day. Trump clearly overestimates the capabilities of the UAE military, which numbers only around 40,000 personnel. The UAE’s main military force consists largely of South Korean mercenaries, Vietnamese mercenaries, Pakistani air force pilots, Egyptian air force personnel, and French air force personnel. Its domestic military strength is too weak. If the UAE were willing to spend real money and deploy international mercenaries, it might be able to launch a surprise attack—but the outcome would be uncertain, and it would face 100% certain fierce retaliation from Iran.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865451403478026/
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